As we wind down the beautiful summer season, we’re tying a bow on our events until October, when we head to Southern California to produce for our east coast client, Kate and Derek. In the interim, it’s venue scouting and site visits for our 2024 clients, and all of our pre-production timeline planning.

It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos of finalizing wedding designs, coordinating rentals, and working with vendors while also drafting floor plans and tending to countless other details. An area often overlooked, we’re sharing the importance of escort displays, and how best to approach these designs with one goal: maximizing the guest experience through ease and comfort.

Escort displays and place cards are a fantastic way to showcase your creativity and provide a memorable occurrence . Beyond their practical use in guiding seating arrangements, they can also serve as thoughtful gifts or indicate entree selections for plated dinners. By collaborating with your vendors, you can infuse your unique style and really make your guests feel special. We encourage you to take advantage of this occasion to add an extra touch of elegance and charm to your celebration. 

Consider taking a more innovative approach by creating a custom adventure for your guests. For example, at a whimsical and fairytale-inspired wedding, we designed in 2022, we used custom embossed leather keychains hanging from a boxwood display to navigate table assignments while also serving as a memorable keepsake. It is important that you design these keepsake items to be something the guests can use long term vs. getting too personal (your wedding date, your names) to where it may deter them from using. Always remember that the keepsake is what will serve as the fond memory, and branding it to what’s personal to you, isn’t the best way for a guest to have use for it in their own lives. It’s these kinds of thoughtful and exceptional touches that can really make your wedding stand out and leave a lasting impression on your guests.

If assigned seating is your preference, you may want to opt for something less interactive to keep the event seamless. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as a grande framed piece or a linen tapestry. Our preferred way of organizing this is to list names individually, and alphabetically (by last name) with their corresponding table number. This allows guests to easily navigate your escort display by not having to search through each table for their name (we hope this tool helps prevent you from listing guests by table number vs. their last name). While this approach may be more simple, it leaves you with a chance to create a wow moment with place cards.

While a classic approach is to use a traditional paper card with an elegant wax seal, there are plenty of unconventional options to explore as well. For example, at a rustic-themed wedding in 2019, the couple chose to use monogrammed cutting boards instead of traditional chargers, adding an elevated and personalized touch to their tables. 

While your options are endless and you may have fallen into the Pinterest black hole already, it’s important to take a step back and consider what style of display would work best for your event, and push the envelope with creativity, here, as it is a great area to do so . After all, your wedding should be a reflection of you and your partner, and incorporating personalized touches into your escort display or place cards is a great way to do just that.

With love,

The KTE Team